'The dangers of ketamine are real'

The mother of a teenager who died after taking ketamine on her first day at Newcastle University has welcomed calls to upgrade the drug to class A.

Jeni Larmour, 18, from Newtonhamilton, County Armagh, died on 3 October 2020 after consuming alcohol and ketamine.

The government is seeking advice on whether to reclassify the drug in line with other narcotics like cocaine, heroin and MDMA.

Sandra Larmour, who has been campaigning for more awareness on ketamine since her daughter's death, said reclassification should be "urgently approved."

The Home Office has said illegal use of ketamine has reached record levels in recent years, with an estimated 269,000 people aged 16-59 reporting ketamine use in the year ending March 2024.

In 2014 the drug was upgraded from class C and currently the maximum penalty for producing and supplying ketamine is 14 years in prison.

If lifted to class A the offence could result in a life sentence.

Sandra said: "The dangers of ketamine are real, and those involved in the supply need to be dealt with accordingly."

Ketamine can cause serious health problems including irreversible damage to the bladder and kidneys.

Professor Paul Gill, from Northumbria University, said: "It has a long term impact on the bladder and urinary tract but we still don't know an awful lot about the longer term consequences on the body."

Sandra, who now works with the DSM Foundation which teaches schoolchildren about the dangers of drugs, hopes "change" will come from this latest review.

"I have said previously in my requests for reclassification, please do not let Jeni's death fall into the statistics of our country.

"Please can I know that her death has not been in vain."

Independent experts are currently assessing the evidence of the health and social harms of ketamine misuse and will submit their findings to Home Office ministers for review.

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